(no subject)

[rivka]

In the years since high school, I've managed to completely forget how to do algebra.

No, scratch that. It's just been in the years since I took the GRE. I know I could do algebra when I took the GRE.

*sfx: tearing hair*

Comments

Re:

[porcinea.livejournal.com]

I'd ask "where's the algebra?", but someone would probably smack me.

x / (1 - x) = y
multiply both sides by (1-x)
x = y * (1 - x)
divide both sides by y
x / y = 1 - x
divide both sides by x
1 / y = (1 - x) / x
simplify right hand side (x / x = 1)
1 / y = 1/x - 1
add 1 to both sides
1 / y + 1 = 1 / x
simplify left hand side (1 = y / y)
(1 + y ) / y = 1 / x
multiply both sides by y
1 + y = y / x
multiply both sides by x
x * (1 + y) = y
divide both sides by (1 + y)
x = y / (1 + y)

Thank you for sharing, that was pretty.

Is why I program. Breaking a problem that as a whole I can't even imagine down into wee baby steps, each v. simple. Thank you, Daisy Leland (8th grade math teacher), for bringing out the fun in function.

(This is where my math ends.)